Successful season for Argentina’s garlic as production and exports increase in 2021

Mendoza is a leading garlic province

Argentina is the third-largest exporter of this spicy vegetable in the world, standing behind China and Spain. Since 2015, Argentina’s garlic production has been gradually rising in response to steadily growing demand on the global market. This situation has granted great opportunities for Mendoza farmers, who harvest 88% of the country’s garlic crop, to expand the cultivated area and facilitate the potential of the country’s garlic exports.

Source: Argentina’s Rural Development Institute (IDR), Argentina’s Ministry of Agriculture

The garlic planting area in Mendoza has been actively growing in the last six years. According to the preliminary estimates of Argentina’s Ministry of Agriculture, the garlic acreage in the mentioned province reached 12,816 hectares in 2020/21, which is 53% more compared to the 2015/16 figure. Thanks to the expansion of the crop area, Mendoza’s garlic output surged to 153,800 tons in 2020/21, 40% more compared to the harvest in the 2015/16 season. However, the 2020/21 estimate is considered by some market players somewhat inflated, because it was based on the analysis of satellite images, since the conventional field survey method was not possible to conduct due to COVID-19.

Source: IDR, Argentina’s Ministry of Agriculture

The high concentration of garlic production in Mendoza would not be possible without perfect climate conditions, creating an absolute advantage in growing this vegetable. According to Tridge’s representative in Argentina, Maria Schargrodsky, the Uco Valley region of the province stands out from the others:“Uco Valley in Mendoza is the best garlic productive area due to its climatic conditions. There the climate is characterized as arid. Garlic is a vegetable that needs strong winters and a certain level of cold. As it is produced in a semi-desert area, there is a weather range between day and night that together with soil conditions, and a height of more than 1,000 meters above sea level, makes Argentina have a higher quality than other countries.”

Exports on the rise

Higher garlic production in 2020/21 has also been reflected in export figures. The most recent trade statistics show that in the first nine months of 2021 Argentina exported 79,871 tons of fresh garlic, up 10 % year on year. Brazil bought more than 61,500 tonnes in the mentioned period or 77% of all the shipments.

Source: ITC Trade Map

The volumes of Argentina’s export to its north-eastern neighbor have increased by 29% in the past five years to 72,000 tonnes in 2020, despite strong competition from China, whose garlic is sold at lower prices and in bigger volumes. According to Tridge’s representative in Argentina, Maria Schargrodsky, it is the high quality of garlic and the availability of numerous varieties of this vegetable that is appreciated by importing countries. “There are three main pillars that make Argentina’s garlic recognizable all over the world: firmness of the bulb, which is highly appreciated by Brazilian consumers, bright color (purple, white or red), and spiciness,” says Maria.

While Brazil is a well-established market for Argentinian garlic suppliers, the country is trying to actively foster its positions in other overseas destinations. 2021 has been a good year for boosting exports to the USA, whose consumers are very interested in organic garlic. From January to September 2021, US companies imported 7,481 tonnes of fresh garlic from Argentina, 40% more year on year. Organic garlic accounted for 17% of the total shipments.

Sources:
Argentina’s Ministry of AgricultureGarlic production in Argentina, November 2021

IDREstimation of the cultivated area with garlic in Mendoza 2021

IDR Estimation of production volumes of garlic in 2019/20

La NacionThe garlic surprise: why in Mendoza it is the protagonist again

FAS USDA Organic Products